This invention relates to ball pitching machines. More particularly, this invention relates to windmill pitching machines especially adapted for simulating the pitching motion of a human pitcher.
Baseball is one of the most popular games in the United States, Japan, and many Caribbean countries. The game is so popular in the United States that it is known as xe2x80x9cthe national pastime.xe2x80x9d The game features a player with a bat attempting to hit a ball pitched by an opposing player. To hit the pitched ball, the batter must swing the bat at exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Several variations of baseball are widely played. In the form most widely played by men and boys, the pitcher throws a hard ball having a circumference of about nine inches overhanded. This form of baseball is sometimes known as xe2x80x9chardball.xe2x80x9d In the form most widely played by women and girls, the pitcher throws a ball having a circumference of about twelve inches underhanded. This form of baseball is commonly known as xe2x80x9csoftball.xe2x80x9d Older men and women often play a form of softball commonly known as xe2x80x9cslow pitch softballxe2x80x9d which is similar to conventional softball, except the pitcher throws the ball at a slower speed and with a much greater arc. The term xe2x80x9cbaseballxe2x80x9d is used herein to include all variations of the game and, as the context requires, to also refer to all types of balls used to play the game. Due to the tremendous growth of competitive sports for girls, softball is growing rapidly in popularity in the United States. Most high schools now have girls softball teams.
Techniques have been developed that enable a top men""s softball pitcher to throw the ball at speeds in excess of about ninety miles per hour. The top high school girl pitchers are able to throw the ball at speeds in excess of about fifty miles per hour. The pitching motion features a windmill motion with the arm, a strong push off the pitcher""s mound with the lower body, and a snap of the wrist at release. The snap of the wrist enables the ball to be thrown at a velocity substantially greater than that generated by the motion of the arm and the rest of the body. The ball reaches the batter so quickly that a batter must begin to swing the bat as the pitcher begins the pitching motion. The batter must make a split-second decision after the ball is released to continue the swing or to stop it.
A variety of machines have been developed to pitch baseballs to batters for practice. A first class of machines features rapidly spinning wheels that fling the baseball to the batter. These machines are unsatisfactory because they do not simulate the motion of an actual pitcher. In particular, the batter""s sense of timing is not improved because he or she cannot coordinate the beginning of the swing with the motion of an arm.
A second class of pitching machines feature reciprocating pitching arms. Examples of such machines are disclosed in Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,308, issued Mar. 23, 1971; Kuizinas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,371, issued Feb. 26, 1991; and Stevenson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,282, issued Oct. 8, 1996. The pitching arms of these machines travel through an arc of only about 90xc2x0 before releasing the ball and rely solely upon the speed attained by the arm during this arc to provide velocity to the pitched ball. In other words, the speed of the machine""s pitching arm is much faster than the speed of a real person""s pitching arm. As a result, the batter cannot coordinate the beginning of the swing with the motion of the arm.
A third class of pitching machines feature windmill pitching arms that rotate 360xc2x0. Examples of such machines are disclosed in Hunsicker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,262, issued Feb. 8, 1972; and Hancock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,735, issued Jun. 16, 1992. Although these pitching arms rotate 360xc2x0 during the pitching cycle, the arc from the point where the ball is picked up to the point where the ball is released is still only about 90xc2x0. Furthermore, these machines rely solely upon the speed attained by the arm during this arc to provide velocity to the pitched ball. As a result, the batter cannot coordinate the beginning of the swing with the motion of the arm.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a demand exists for a windmill pitching machine that more closely simulates the pitching motion and release of a human pitcher. More particularly, a machine is needed that provides a pitching motion with a wide arc ending in a release that increases the velocity of the ball.
The general object of this invention is to provide an improved pitching machine that simulates the pitching motion and release of a human pitcher. A more particular object is to provide a windmill pitching machine that closely simulates the underhand pitching motion of a fast-pitch softball pitcher by providing a pitching arm motion with a wide arc ending in a release that increases the velocity of the ball.
I have invented an improved ball pitching machine of the windmill type. The machine comprises: (a) a frame having a ball magazine, a ball cradle, and a pitching arm pause stop member; (b) a rotating plate mounted to the frame, the plate having a pitching arm final stop member and being adapted to rotate vertically 360xc2x0 at a constant speed about an axis; (c) a pitching arm having a ball holder at a distal end and being pivotably connected to the rotating plate at a proximate end, the pitching arm adapted to rotate vertically about an arc of between about 100 and 300xc2x0 from the pause stop member to the final stop member at a high speed, to rotate about the remaining arc and to pick up a ball from the ball cradle at the speed of the rotating plate, and to pause at the pause stop member; (d) a flip lever pivotably connected to the pitching arm, one end of the lever adapted to rest against a ball in the ball holder and the other end of the lever adapted to contact the final stop member; (e) a spring connected between the rotating plate and the pitching arm that biases the pitching arm in a direction toward the final stop member; and (f) a means for rotating the rotating plate.
The rotation of the pitching arm through a wide arc simulates the motion of a human pitcher""s arm and the action of the flip lever simulates the motion of the pitcher""s wrist snap release by increasing the velocity of the ball. The underhand embodiment of the machine especially simulates the motion of a fast pitch softball pitcher""s arm. The machine enables the batter to coordinate the beginning of the swing with the motion of the pitching arm.